Upper Iowa River near Dorchester, IA

Allamakee County, Iowa · USGS gauge 05388250 · NWS DCHI4 · Upper Iowa River flood status · Iowa river levels

Nearby: river levels near Dorchester

Is Upper Iowa River near Dorchester, IA flooding right now?

Upper Iowa River near Dorchester, IA measured 7.05 ft on 2026-09-11 01:00:00 UTC. That observation was 7.0 ft below its 14 ft flood stage. This is the latest available reading, not a guarantee of current conditions.

Gauge height
7.05 ft
as of 85 min ago
Streamflow
362 cfs
data refreshed 8 min ago

Minor flooding here begins at 14 ft, with major flooding at 19 ft. The highest crest on record was 24.3 ft on Thu, Aug 25, 2016.

Streamflow outlook

NOAA National Water Model forecast, issued 14 hours ago. The NWM models discharge for every river reach in the country, including the many gauges the National Weather Service does not forecast individually. It is a model, not an official NWS river forecast, and it predicts flow rather than water level.

Flood stages at this gauge

CategoryStageCurrent distance
Action11 ft4.0 ft below
Minor flood14 ft7.0 ft below
Moderate flood17 ft9.9 ft below
Major flood19 ft11.9 ft below

New to these numbers? What does flood stage mean? · How to read a river gauge · Why is the river rising?

Highest crests on record

StageDate
24.3 ft2016-08-25
22.46 ft2008-06-09
22.2 ft1948-02-28
21.8 ft1941-05-30
20.89 ft1937-03-05

Last 7 days

Past 7 days · 6.99–7.16 ft

Nearby gauges

GaugeDistanceCounty
Waterloo Creek near Dorchester, IA2.1 miAllamakee County
Crooked Creek at Freeburg MN15.0 miHouston County
Upper Iowa River at Decorah, IA16.5 miWinneshiek County
Upper Iowa River at Bluffton, IA19.6 miWinneshiek County
Mississippi River at Brownsville, MN21.8 miHouston County
Provisional data: Real-time readings are provisional and subject to revision by the USGS — sensors can be affected by ice, debris, or equipment malfunction. Do not rely on this site for decisions involving personal safety; follow official guidance from the National Weather Service and local authorities.

Sources: USGS monitoring location · NWS gauge & forecast